Baron's Homeschool Scrapbook

Choose a Month:

November 2017:

Champions of the Cold Weather:

The Spider and the Crane Fly

These are the only bugs we can find left in the cold weather: spiders and crane flies. Why? They both adapt to the cold by making their own antifreeze. It's very similar to the kind we put in our car, and it lowers the temperature at which they freeze. How cool is that?!

Is Baron acting silly?? No way, never.

The best place to find worms and creatures in November is under wet rocks!

Right before Thanksgiving, we talked about what the creatures in the ocean may be thankful for.

We tested saltwater and sink water to notice the difference between what we drink and the water in the ocean.

On the white board, I drew all the sea creatures we've been introduced to so far, and I wrote what each of them may be thankful for!

Baron noticed that this spider on the slide got caught in his own web over time!!

The first edition of our project for Santa was the background.

Baron wanted falling candy canes in front of a night sky, so I suggested Van Gogh's Starry Night, and Baron remembered the name from school and loved the idea!

Baron thought of putting glitter in the background, and he came up with the great idea of crimpling the glittery ribbon from his box of art supplies.

Last soccer game of the season!!

Baron says basketball is next!

There are not many bugs left to find as it gets colder!

Slugs shrivel up and hide under bark and tarps for warmth

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All earthworms do more than just burrow to escape frozen ground. Once down as deep as they will go, they curl up tightly, surrounding themselves in insulating slime. In winter, the worms hibernate, waiting for soil to thaw before moving upward.

How do insects survive the cold?

Fun Fact!

Some bugs can make their own antifreeze that lets them survive winter’s below-freezing temperatures! A natural protein gives the insect body “supercooling” ability, allowing body fluids to drop below freezing points without causing ice damage.

Here are a few ways!

The honey bee workers huddle together to keep warm. Keeping warm uses energy, and they get that energy from eating the honey they have stored in the hive in the warmer seasons!

Some insects migrate, or head to warmer climates, or at least better conditions, when winter weather approaches. The most famous migrating insect isthe monarch butterfly. Monarchs in the eastern U.S. and Canada fly up to 2,000 miles to spend their winter in Mexico.

Ants head below the frost line, where their large numbers and stored food keep them comfortable until spring arrives. Some insects try to find warmth in buildings too!

Other bugs, like mosquitoes and grasshoppers, don’t survive the winter themselves, but they lay their eggs in deep water or soil that won’t freeze hard. As long as their environment doesn’t freeze, the eggs will hatch in the spring.

Soccer Ball ART!

Our giant squid had lights to represent bioluminescence, the way animals can make their own light deep underwater!